Stonehaven Incubate and US-based biopharmaceutical company Agile Sciences, Inc. have signed a collaboration agreement for the development of innovative veterinary pharmaceutical therapeutic and prophylactic treatments. Agile’s technology consists of a family of small molecules that uniquely disable bacterial protection mechanisms. When combined with antibiotics, including antibiotics which have been rendered ineffective due to resistance issues, the result is a reduction in the quantity of antibiotics required to be effective, delay and reversal of antibiotic resistance and dispersion and inhibition of biofilms.
The companies have agreed to work together, commencing with proof-of-concept trials. Once the initial studies have been successfully completed, the partners have agreed to form a new company that will have exclusive rights to manufacture, develop and commercialise this new treatment paradigm in animal health.
Agile Sciences’ compounds have been modified from a naturally occurring molecule found in a marine sponge which has been shown to have anti-biofilm properties. The compounds increase the susceptibility of highly resistant strains of bacteria to antibiotics. They have shown effectiveness in multiple pre-clinical studies against a wide variety of gram positive and gram negative pathogens, including multi-drug resistant microbes. The collaboration will provide the opportunity to explore the use of these compounds in multiple settings in both production and companion animals.
Malcolm Thomas, CEO of Agile Sciences, said: “We are very excited to be working with Stonehaven Incubate since its expertise in animal health will greatly expand the utility of our unique and groundbreaking technology for repurposing and enhancing antibiotics into the animal health market.”
“Our latest collaboration with Agile provides an opportunity to significantly change the way we utilize antibiotics in animal health,” said Dr Mark Heffernan, CEO of Stonehaven Incubate. “We will be able to rapidly assess effectiveness and safety of the molecules, and then, by forming a new company, accelerate the opportunity through development with focus and conviction. Agile has invested significantly in its platform and molecules, and the new company can avail of this in the application of animal health.”
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Notes to editor:
Stonehaven Incubate
Swiss based Stonehaven Incubate was formed in 2018 and is a dedicated, animal health group committed to creating new companies de novo from disruptive human technology. Stonehaven Incubate works with innovators and builds strategies for new, stand-alone animal health companies. It finds experienced management teams and sources the required capital, leaving no stone unturned in its quest to bring human innovations to animal health.
Its parent company, Stonehaven Holdings AG, was founded in 2015 by George Gunn, former CEO of Novartis AH.
Agile Sciences, Inc.
Agile Sciences, Inc. is a pre-clinical stage biopharmaceutical company based in Raleigh, NC USA. It is pioneering an entirely new mechanistic approach for the treatment of antibiotic resistant, life-threatening infections.
It was founded in 2007 by Dr. John Cavanagh, previously at the Department of Molecular & Structural Biochemistry at North Carolina State University (NCSU) and Dr. Christian Melander, George & Winifred Clark Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Notre Dame University.
To date, Agile Sciences has received over $12M USD in grants and contracts from the US government and private foundations. Its three main areas of focus are:
- Multi-drug resistant gram-negative pathogens
- Dispersion and inhibition of biofilms in Cystic Fibrosis patients
- Chronic wound healing
For more information contact Mike Keeler or Alistair Moses at Garnett Keeler PR on +44 (0)20 8647 4467 or mailto:mike.keeler@garnettkeeler.com/ alistair.moses@garnettkeeler.com
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